Radio Free Asia says broadcasts to Vietnam are being jammed

February 7, 1997
Web posted at: 6:15 EST (2315 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Most of Radio Free Asia's first
broadcasts to Vietnam are being jammed, presumably by the
Vietnamese government, RFA's president says. The jamming was
not unexpected, according Richard Richter, who heads the
privately run but federally funded organization.

Richter denies that the programming, which includes news
about events in Vietnam, is propaganda. "We are all
professional journalists, and broadcasting propaganda would
injure our credibility," Richter told CNN.

Radio Free Asia differs from the Voice of America, which
provides worldwide news and, sometimes, editorials that
reflect the viewpoint of the U.S. government. Radio Free Asia
has no editorials.